{"id":168161,"date":"2025-09-29T13:15:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/168161\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T13:15:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:15:09","slug":"this-is-the-common-spice-you-must-take-to-lose-weight-like-many-doctors-i-thought-the-claims-were-rubbish-but-now-weve-all-been-proven-wrong-and-it-can-even-stop-your-post-mounjaro-side-effects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/168161\/","title":{"rendered":"This is the common spice you must take to lose weight. Like many doctors, I thought the claims were rubbish but now we’ve all been proven wrong… and it can even stop your post-Mounjaro side effects: DR ROB GALLOWAY"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes a new bit of research appears and barely causes a ripple. Then another study comes out, confirms the effect, and suddenly you look back at the first one with new eyes. Only when you connect the dots do you realise, we might have missed something important.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening with turmeric, with evidence emerging showing that it could be the everyday spice that might quietly help you lose weight<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Turmeric \u2013 the golden spice often used in curries \u2013 has long been part of traditional medicine in India<\/a> and South-east Asia<\/a>. Its active ingredient, curcumin, has been studied for decades.<\/p>\n

But most doctors, myself included, filed it under the \u2018sounds interesting, but probably doesn\u2019t work\u2019 category, the sort of thing more likely to be pushed by quacks than to appear in serious medical journals.<\/p>\n

Now, though, two major reviews \u2013 the gold standard of research which brings together the results of multiple smaller studies \u2013 suggest turmeric really may help in the fight against two of the biggest problems we face: obesity and type 2 diabetes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The most recent study, published in Nutrition & Diabetes in August, analysed the results of 20 trials of people with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes, nearly 1,400 patients in all, and found that those given a daily turmeric or curcumin supplement lost about 2kg, with waistlines shrinking by 2-3cm over the eight to 30 weeks of the various trials<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Two years earlier, another team led by academics in Iran published a review pooling 60 trials, involving nearly 3,700 people, and found a similar pattern of modest weight loss.<\/p>\n

This earlier research was published in the journal Phytotherapy Research, which specialises in studies of plant-based medicines and while it\u2019s well regarded in that field, it\u2019s relatively specialist, which probably explains why the study didn\u2019t get the wider attention it deserved.<\/p>\n

\"But <\/p>\n

A study found that those given a daily turmeric or curcumin supplement lost about 2kg, with waistlines shrinking by 2-3cm over the eight to 30 weeks<\/p>\n

As to how turmeric might help: curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, appears to act like a metabolic switch. It switches on an enzyme called AMPK \u2013 a sort of master regulator found in many tissues, including muscle, fat and the liver. And when AMPK is switched on, cells stop storing fat and instead start burning it for energy.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also evidence that curcumin may increase the activity of brown fat \u2013 the \u2018good\u2019 fat that burns calories to make heat, in a process called thermogenesis. Babies are born with plenty of it to help keep them warm, but adults retain only small amounts, mainly around the neck and spine.<\/p>\n

Some studies suggest curcumin may stimulate thermogenesis further, possibly by influencing genes such as UCP-1, a protein inside brown fat that acts like a switch, making the \u2018batteries\u2019 in the cells (the mitochondria) release energy as heat instead of storing it. That means the body burns off more energy as heat, rather than storing it as fat.<\/p>\n

Alongside this, curcumin reduces the low-grade inflammation that builds up inside fat tissue and is a big driver of insulin resistance (which means your cells aren\u2019t as efficient at taking up the sugar from the blood, leading to type 2 diabetes).<\/p>\n

\"But <\/p>\n

But most doctors, myself included, filed turmeric under the \u2018sounds interesting, but probably doesn\u2019t work\u2019 category, writes Dr Rob Galloway<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s more: curcumin also reins in enzymes in the liver that churn out new fat, and may even help stop immature fat cells maturing into fully fledged ones.<\/p>\n

Together these effects may not strip the pounds off overnight, but they tip the balance away from fat storage and towards a healthier metabolism.<\/p>\n

So how much turmeric do you need?<\/p>\n

The 2023 study didn\u2019t just look at weight. It also measured two key hormones \u2013 which are crucial to controlling how much we weigh.<\/p>\n

The first, adiponectin, helps the body control blood sugar and higher levels are found in people who are slimmer. Turmeric made those levels go up.<\/p>\n

The other hormone, leptin, which normally tells the brain when we\u2019ve got enough fat stored, however in obesity, the brain has stopped listening. With turmeric, leptin levels came down \u2013 but the key is, only at doses you\u2019d get from a supplement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s another catch.<\/p>\n

Curcumin is poorly absorbed. Swallow a spoonful of turmeric and most of it goes straight through you.<\/p>\n

But add black pepper, with its active compound piperine, and blood levels rise 20-fold. That\u2019s why many supplements combine the two \u2013 and why traditional cooking often did the same, long before we had the science.<\/p>\n

What if you\u2019re not diabetic or pre-diabetic? The research shows the same benefits were seen in ordinary overweight adults.<\/p>\n

And turmeric\u2019s benefits may not stop at weight control. Studies suggest it has anti-inflammatory properties, which is why some patients take it for arthritis pain.<\/p>\n

It might help gut health, possibly mood and brain function too, though the evidence there is still early.<\/p>\n

Turmeric isn\u2019t a miracle diet pill \u2013 if you live on takeaways and sugary drinks, it won\u2019t rescue you.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re trying to live healthily, adding turmeric could be another small nudge in the right direction \u2013 the cumulative effect of little things is what keeps weight steady over the years when middle-age spread would otherwise start to take over.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I\u2019ve started sneaking it into my own diet \u2013 you could try adding it into your cooking; turmeric tea in the afternoon; a pinch stirred into yoghurt; add it to scrambled eggs or soups.<\/p>\n

And I take a daily turmeric and black pepper supplement (a 1g pill).<\/p>\n

There are caveats: side-effects such as stomach upset and itching were reported in some trials, though this was rare. And it can interfere with some medications \u2013 particularly blood thinners, diabetes treatments, and drugs processed by the liver \u2013 so anyone on regular prescriptions should check with their doctor before starting high-dose supplements.<\/p>\n

But turmeric is otherwise safe for most people, cheap and widely available.<\/p>\n

And for those coming off the fat-fighting jabs such as Mounjaro, it might be one of the small, everyday steps that helps maintain your progress<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Time to \u2018spice up your life\u2019?<\/p>\n

Why too thin is as bad as too fat\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Back in 2023, I wrote about the idea of being \u2018fat but fit\u2019 and how it was a dangerous myth. I used to believe it myself – that if you exercised hard enough, you could carry extra weight without the consequences.<\/p>\n

But the science told a different story: fat is fat, and it puts strain on your heart, blood vessels and metabolism no matter how many marathons you run.<\/p>\n

Now a study presented recently at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes conference in Copenhagen, throws in a twist I didn\u2019t see coming.<\/p>\n

Researchers tracked more than 85,000 adults in Denmark over the five years of the study – and found that being too thin may be just as dangerous as being overweight.<\/p>\n

Underweight people were almost three times more likely to die early compared with those at the upper end of the \u2018healthy\u2019 range: those with a BMI of 18.5 to 20 were twice as likely to die and those with a BMI of 20 to 22.5 had a 27 per cent higher risk of dying early, compared with those in the 22.5 to 25 bracket (who had the lowest mortality rates).<\/p>\n

The data also showed that the risk of mortality only really began to rise again when BMI hit 35 and above.<\/p>\n

Why might being so thin be so risky? I think it often means losing not just fat but muscle, and muscle is protective – it underpins strength, metabolism and immunity. Add in nutritional deficiencies and you have a weaker body, less able to fight infection or withstand disease.<\/p>\n

The bottom line? Extremes at either end are bad news. In fact, maybe we should rethink the \u2018healthy\u2019 BMI range of 18.5 to 25, and start regarding that the true healthy range is really 22.5 to 25 – and below that is underweight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sometimes a new bit of research appears and barely causes a ripple. Then another study comes out, confirms…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":168162,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[97,59,102,308,585,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-168161","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-gb","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-india","12":"tag-iran","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/168162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}